This past weekend, I visited Albert Woodfox for the umpteenth time in the last five years.
All but one of the visits have been at the David Wade Correctional
Center in Homer, Louisiana, five hours from where I live. At the
beginning, it was a grueling trip because I wasn't used to it and I have
to go up on Saturday and come back the following day for a total of ten
hours behind the wheel in one weekend. Sometimes it rains and once, it
poured all the way up and all the way back.

I know I could take someone else along, but visiting somebody that's
been in solitary confinement for what has now been forty-two years is
emotionally draining and I don't want to have to be nicer than I really
am for two solid days when I've been visiting people in prison since
1971 and every visit eats my lunch.

So I load up on coffee and listen to music or audio books and, over
time, I've gotten used to the trip. But I'll never get used to the
visits and all the fol-de-rol they put us through just because they can.

Originally, the "rules" allowed us to have two 4-hour visits in a
weekend because I live so far away. Though Albert was shackled when he
left his cell, the shackles were removed when he got to the visiting
room and our visits were conducted sitting at a table where we could eat
vending machine food and drink sodas or water. And on holidays, I could
purchase a cake at the front door for us to share. The "rules" allowed
us to hug at the beginning and at the end of each visit and, on one
occasion, the "rules" even allowed us to have a bunch of photos taken,
one of which can be seen above.

The most interesting thing about prisons, however, is that the "rules"
change all the time, especially for individuals who ostensibly deserve
extra punishment for whatever reason. I'm not talking about a prisoner
who breaks a rule and goes through a due process that is the same for
everyone. I'm talking about a prisoner -- like Albert Woodfox -- who has
been continually tormented for more than forty years because he was one
of three men who organized a Black Panther Party chapter in Angola
Penitentiary back in the early 1970's and has now become an
international icon of resistance to oppression. Oh, yes. And let's not
forget all the legal suits he's won and the legal precedents he has set
during all those years.

Anyway, the "rules" keep changing for our visits. First, the visits went
from four hours to three hours and then they went down to two hours
each. So instead of driving ten hours to get eight hours of visiting
time, I now drive ten hours to get two 2-hour visits. But it gets worse.

The "rules" now require that Albert has to wear the shackles for the
entire time we're visiting (with his hands chained to his waist and his
feet shackled to the floor despite the fact that there are anywhere from
one to four guards in the room with him the whole time). The "rules"
also mandate a glass window between us now and a heavy mesh we must
speak through. We can see each other clearly through the glass, but if I
want to hear halfway well, I have to give that up, lean down until my
head is almost on the counter and peep through the mesh. We get no hugs
and he gets no food or soda, so I don't feel like having anything
either.

On top of everything else, until he took them to court and won an
injunction to prevent them from doing so, the "rules" suddenly demanded
that he be strip-searched and anally probed every time he left his cell
for the past year or so. And the pat downs I receive at the front desk
have gone from being peremptory to being foreplay.

I know I'm not the only one that goes through this. Albert has regular
visits from a number of folks. But I want you to get a feeling for the
ugliness of this situation and its arbitrary nature. Are you with me so
far? Because now that I've set the stage, I want you to imagine you
were sitting there next to me this weekend, looking through the glass,
listening through the mesh to a man who knows he may be forced to endure
this treatment for the rest of his life. In particular, he chose to
relate -- and I have recreated here from memory -- what he said to a
psychiatrist who is helping the Department of Corrections build their
case in defense of long-term solitary confinement.

Albert Woodfox speaks:

"When I look back to some of the things I
did as a youth learning how to survive from the Sixth Ward Highsteppers
in New Orleans, I realize that society was teaching me to be an enemy of
the poor, the ignorant, and even my own people. I feel bad about some
of the things I did back then. And sometimes I wonder what I would have
become if none of this had happened the way it did."But being introduced to the Black Panther
Party in jail in New York City gave me an alternate option to survival.
It changed the game. The Black Panthers were the first Black people I
ever saw who were not afraid. Watching them, talking to them, learning
from them changed my life forever. It was the first time I ever heard a
voice louder than the voice of the street. And when I came back to
Louisiana and went to Angola, the Black Panther Party's Ten Point Plan
came with me."The Ten Point Plan was about
self-determination, taking responsibility for your decision-making, for
your life, for your community, and I began to see that I could make a
difference in the world. I wanted to do that and I was on fire. I was every kind of radical and absolutely convinced that major social changes in America were right around the corner."When Brent Miller was murdered and they
rounded up [Herman Wallace] and me and put us in the hole, it never
crossed my mind that I would spend the next four decades locked up 23
hours a day in an 8' by 10' cell. It didn't even occurto me that we would be convicted. We were innocent! I was positivethat the people -- our brothers and sisters outside -- would rise up and organize and keep us from being railroaded."Then, when they were taking us out to be
arraigned, one of Brent Miller's brothers came tearing up the road in a
truck, skidded to a stop near the van we were in and jumped out with a
pump shotgun, screaming, 'Where are those niggers? Let me at 'em! I'm
gonna kill those sons o' bitches!' Suddenly, it was serious. In that moment, the realization that our lives were at stake and the law might not protect us flooded over me."Now, all these years later, the hearing
on the civil case related to our long-term solitary confinement is
approaching. So they sent this psychiatrist to question me. What he was
doing, of course, was to try to get me to say that forty years in
solitary confinement hasn't really been all that bad. 'You seem quite
well adjusted,' he said."I told him that unless he sits in a cell
23 hours a day for forty years, he has no idea what he's talking about. I
said, you want to know what I'm afraid of? I'm afraid I'm going to
start screaming and not be able to stop. I'm afraid I'm going to turn
into a baby and curl up in a fetal position and lay there like that
every day for the rest of my life. I'm afraid I'm going to attack my own
body, maybe cut off my balls and throw them through the bars the way
I've seen others do when they couldn't take any more."No television or hobby craft or magazines
or any of the other toys you call yourself allowing can ever lessen the
nightmare of this hell you help to create and maintain."I have been sustained in my struggle by
three men. Nelson Mandela taught me that if you have a noble cause, you
can bear the weight of the world on your shoulders. Malcolm X taught me
that it doesn't matter where you start out; what matters is where you
end up. And George Jackson taught me that if you're not willing to die
for what you believe in, you don't believe in anything."I know you're only doing your job, Doc.
You have your job and I have mine. I am a teacher. And I am living proof
that we can survive the worst to change ourselves and our world no
matter where we are. I do not want to die in a cell, but if I must to
make the lesson clear, then I am willing to do just that."

(PHOTOS:A billboard and twitter campaign to mark the 42-year commemoration launched in New Orleans on April 17, 2014.)

6 comments:

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Dear valuable guest, You are grand Welcome to Nepal Base Camp Treks. A Premier Himalayan Local Trekking and tour Agency in Kathmandu Our teams cordially feel immense pleasure to welcoming you all the official page of Nepal Base Camp Treks (P) Ltd, a premier local travel and trekking operator based in Kathmandu. After long experience in Tourism Sector and being a government registered trekking company, Nepal Base Camp Treks takes pride for being recognized by national and international organizations, currently affiliated TAAN (Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal), NTB (Nepal Tourism Board), NMA (Nepal Mountaineering Association), PPN (porters progress Nepal ), FNTN (Federation of National Tourism Nepal ), Kathmandu Environmental Education Project (KEEP) and IETS (International Eco-Tourism Society ),. Moreover, our company is featured in and highly recommended by much-acclaimed Trip Advisor as well. Based in Kathmandu, we have been successfully operating a number of reliable travel options for various trips to all Nepal Himalayas as, Everest Base Camp Trek, Everest Chola Pass TrekGokyo lake Valley Trek, Annapurna Base Camp Trek, Ghorepani Poonhill Trek, Annapurna Circuit Trek, Langtang Valley Trek, Helambu Circuit Trek, Manaslu Circuit Trek, Upper Mustang Trek, and neighboring countries Tibet and Bhutan. Since the inception, we have been largely providing our valuable clients with opportunities for Sightseeing Tours, City tours, Mix Cultural Trekking Tours, Cultural Tours, Pilgrimage Tours, Tea House Trekking, Camping Trek in High Himalayas and Mountaineering, and all other sort of outdoor adventure trips inside of Nepal Himalaya. Decade 16 year’s long experienced in Tourism industry has taught us a lot to excel up to be one of the your most trusted trekking and travel operators of Kathmandu Nepal. The primary reasons behind this trust and success are the way we serve our clients and the way we've been organizing every sort of trips. The safety, security, and satisfaction of our clients have always been of paramount importance to us, and we're never saying in words only we do in practical way. Our teams keep receiving huge appreciation from our valued clients from all around the world, which we think, is our guiding light to make best out of your future trips. Humbly if you are planning your next holiday in Nepal Himalaya, let us know, we would like to help your plan and organize your life-defining trip under your feet and memorable being a government registered trekking company, Nepal Base Camp Treks takes pride for trekking in nepal, and goverment resgister trekking company in nepal being recognized.Nepal Base Camp Treks (Pvt. Ltd.)Post Box: 8170 Thamel, Kathmandu, NepalMobile: +977-9851111874Email: sappagomso@hotmail.cominfo@nepalbasecamptreks.comURL:- www.nepalbasecamptreks.com

Read Robert H. King's Autobiography

Angola 3 Basics

44 years ago, deep in rural Louisiana, three young black men were silenced for trying to expose continued segregation, systematic corruption, and horrific abuse in the biggest prison in the US, an 18,000 acre former slave plantation called Angola.

Peaceful, non-violent protest in the form of hunger and work strikes organized by inmates caught the attention of Louisiana’s elected leaders and local media in the early 1970s. They soon called for investigations into a host of unconstitutional and extraordinarily inhumane practices commonplace in what was then the “bloodiest prison in the South.” Eager to put an end to outside scrutiny, prison officials began punishing inmates they saw as troublemakers.

At the height of this unprecedented institutional chaos, Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox, and Robert King were charged with murders they did not commit and thrown into 6x9 foot solitary cells where they remained for decades.

“Hezekiah was one you could put words in his mouth,” the Warden reminisced chillingly in an interview about the case years later.

Notably, Teenie Rogers, the widow of the victim, prison guard Brent Miller, after reviewing the evidence believed Herman and Albert’s trials were unfair, expressed grave doubts about their guilt, and called upon officials to find the real killer. "“Each time I look at the evidence in this case, I remember there is no proof that the men charged with Brent’s death are the ones who actually killed him. It’s easy to get caught up in vengeance and anger, but when I look at the facts, they just do not add up,” said Rogers in 2013.

Albert’s conviction was overturned three times by judges citing racial discrimination, prosecutorial misconduct, inadequate defense, and suppression of exculpatory evidence. While the case worked its way through endless appeals, Louisiana officials refused to release Albert from solitary, even when no longer convicted of the crime, because “there’s been no rehabilitation” from “practicing Black Pantherism.”4

Finally, Albert was released in February of 2016, 43 years and 10 months after first being put in isolation for a crime he didn’t commit.

Louisiana today has the highest incarceration rate in the US—thus the highest in the world.

Three-fourths of the 5,000+ prisoners at Angola are African American. And due to some of the harshest sentencing practices in the nation, 97% will die there.

Reminiscent of a bygone era, inmates still harvest cotton, corn and wheat for 4 to 20 cents an hour under the watchful eye of armed guards on horseback.

We believe that only by openly examining the failures and inequities of the criminal justice system in America can we restore integrity to that system.

We must not wait.

We can make a difference.

As the A3 did years before, now is the time to challenge injustice and demand that the innocent and wrongfully incarcerated be freed.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

In 2000, Herman, Albert and Robert filed a civil lawsuit challenging the inhumane and increasingly pervasive practice of long-term solitary confinement. Magistrate Judge Dalby described their decades of isolation as “so far beyond the pale” she could not find “anything even remotely comparable in the annals of American jurisprudence.” Over the course of 16 years, this seminal case detailed unconstitutionally cruel and unusual treatment and systematic due process violations at the hands of Louisiana officials and inspired worldwide action to end long term solitary.

Support Our Work!

Stepping Across to Freedom

Please join us in laying the foundation for Albert’s new life. We’ll never be able to make up for over four decades in solitary but those of us in minimum security know how costly life out here can be. 100% of all donations will be given directly to Albert.

You can use the "Support Our Work" donate button (directly above) or go directly to our fiscal sponsor, Community Futures Collective and designate "Albert" in the memo.

From the entire Angola 3 community- thank you.

Amnesty International video interview with Robert H King: "Slavery Still Reigns in US Prisons"

Angola 3 News, a project of the International Coalition to Free the Angola 3, presents the latest news about the A3, and we also create our own media projects, spotlighting the issues central to the story of the A3, like racism, repression, prisons, human rights, solitary confinement as torture, and more. Our articles and videos have been published by Alternet, Truthout, Black Commentator, Black Agenda Report, SF Bay View Newspaper, Counterpunch, Facing South, Poor Magazine, Monthly Review, Z Magazine, LA Progressive, Dissident Voice, New Clear Vision, Nation of Change, Infoshop News, WW4 Report, Firedoglake, Indymedia, and many others.

Please help spread the word about our website and online networking at You Tube, Care2, Twitter, Facebook. For more info, please contact the A3 Coalition and visit our other websites:

Kenny 'Zulu' Whitmore

Zulu has been in Louisiana State Prison, Angola, LA since March 14, 1977. He had been in jail since 1975.

After threats and torture if he did not plead guilty, an unfair trial and the use of false information, Zulu was in '77 sentenced to life + 99 years for the 1973 murder of the former mayor of a small town, in which he had no part whatsoever.

Get a Zulu T-Shirt

FreeZulu.org

Kenny 'Zulu' Whitmore

“Zulu is a true warrior, Panther, a servant of the people. He has fought a good battle, for so long, unrecognized, unsupported!” --Robert Hillary King

ABOUT ZULU:

I am Kenny Zulu Whitmore. I have been enslaved in one of the most brutal and bloodiest prisons in the USA, Angola, LA, the "last slave plantation". Framed for a murder I never committed I have been in solitary confinement for over 30 years now.....

In December 1973 I was arrested on frivolous charges and held over for a magistrate hearing where a bond would be set. While awaiting my court appearance I found myself in a cage right across from a black man who struck me as a fearsome revolutionary. It turned out to be Herman Wallace. I was impressed with his words of wisdom, which enabled me to better understand the treatment and condition of my community by the police. I felt honored just to have been in his presence. There were others on the unit, but all you could hear was the voice of Herman. We talked all through the night after he learned why I was arrested. He explained that if my concern was to protect the people, my only route of doing so would be to educate myself of the political Kingdom and then organize the people to effectively challenge the ill that cripple the people. I realized my speaking out against drug dealers and police brutality alone would be viewed as a personal war and wouldn't achieve anything.

Herman told me he and others had established a chapter of the Black Panther Party in Angola, to fight against prison corruption. I gave him all my information because what he spoke of was what I needed in my life. I dare say it was my first true political education. The next day I learned he was there on trial for the death of a prison guard. At that time I believed he didn't stand a chance. In the mean time history has proven I was wrong. However, instead of focusing on his trial, he had many questions about community service and conditions. I ended up giving him my name and address. He told me he was officially making me a member of the Angola Chapter of the Black Panther Party. I was very honored but I had no idea what this man expected of me. But I knew about the Panthers and so I went back to the community with the idea of organizing the community against illegal drug trafficking.

On February 19, 1975 I was arrested again. This time charged with two counts of armed robbery of a Zachary shoe store. In June of 1975 all charges were dropped after both victims argued with the judge that I was not the person who did this crime. But I still couldn't go free...Read more here.WRITE ZULU: